Students take the national exam in Makassar, South Sulawesi in Indonesia (Source: Antara) Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia has decided to put the national exams for elementary, secondary and high school students in 2020 on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives on March 24.
Syaiful Huda, Chairman of House Commission X overseeing education, said that the decision was made in a recent teleconference between the lawmakers and Education and Culture Minister of Indonesia Nadiem Makarim.
The spread of the COVID-19 is expected to continue until April, coinciding with the national exams. Therefore, the Indonesian government and the House of Representatives are looking at options to replace them.
One of which is the implementation of online national exams. The other choice is to apply assessments based on cumulative grades on report cards from three years of study for junior and senior high school students, as well as six years of study for elementary students.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Military (TNI) has set up four Integrated Joint Task Commands to handle the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, said Commander of the Joint Regional Defence Command I Vice Admiral Yudo Margono.
The four commands will serve as sub-units of the Task Force for handling COVID-19, he explained.
As part of its endeavours to tackle the COVID-19, the TNI had dispatched Indonesian Air Force Hercules C-130 aircraft to China to transport nine tonnes of necessary medical assistance.
The number of COVID-19 cases across Indonesia reached 579 as of March 23, with 49 deaths and 30 recoveries.
The same day, Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto said the Chinese government has offered its assistance to Indonesia to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, which could be considered as a form of international cooperation.
Earlier, 12 tonnes of medical supplies were sent from China for Indonesia’s COVID-19 combat, he added./.
VNA
